Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,908 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Dec 27, 2023 19:16:31 GMT
More Modern Forgeries on eBay
Latest: Hong Kong High-CV Overprints & High-Denomination StampsI just wanted to let members know that today I discovered some dozens of listings for rare HK items that are clearly modern forgeries. Many from one seller do state that the items are "reproductions," but as you can see below, that important fact does not appear in the listing title. You have to scroll down to the detailed description to find that little tidbit. There seem to be two sellers, both based in the UK, who are offering this stuff. And I note that there are some items that seem to be of the same like-new appearance that are listed without the "reproduction" note in the description, as well as other material that is just plain bogus. I will collect a few more images and post them here, but I wanted to make others aware of this. 
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Dec 27, 2023 19:32:42 GMT
More Modern Forgeries on eBay
Hong Kong: Claimed to be Unissued King Edward VIII Definitive StampThis is another item from the same seller, which is also claimed to be a reproduction. My opinion is that something can only be considered as a reproduction if it actually legitimately existed in the first place. Has any member ever seen an unissued HK KEVIII stamp? Of any kind? There are multiple different ones currently on eBay, and my opinion is that they are completely bogus and don't even qualify as reproductions. I have seen unissued KEVIII stamps before, notably one from Australia, but I have never seen any from Hong Kong. A general web search of "Hong Kong unissued King Edward VIII Stamp" did not provide any further info. Comments and opinions are welcome, of course! 
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Londonbus1
Moderator
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 5,064
What I collect: Wonderland; 1912 Jubilee International Stamp Exhibition, London ('Ideal' Stamp, ephemera); French Cinderellas with an emphasis on Poster Stamps; Israel and Palestine Cinderellas ; Jewish National Fund Stamps, Labels and Tags; London 2010, A Festival of Stamps (anything); South Africa 1937 Coronation issue of KGVI, singles or bi-lingual pairs.
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Post by Londonbus1 on Dec 27, 2023 20:15:24 GMT
Looks like pure fantasy to me !!  |
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Post by michael on Dec 27, 2023 20:16:35 GMT
YHStamps2020 is a prolific seller of reproduction stamps. He is not committing any crime as per Ebay rules because all his stamps are labelled "mint never hinged reproduction".
I don't understand however why he has sold so many, allegedly 43,000! Why would anyone want to buy these modern computer printed labels?
I hope this isn't deleted because I have named the seller. Members should be warned of such sellers.
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hdm1950
Member 
Posts: 1,886
What I collect: I collect world wide up to 1965 with several specialty albums added due to volume of material I have acquired. At this point I am focused on Canada and British America. I am always on the lookout for stamps and covers with postmarks from communities in Queens County, Nova Scotia. I do list various goods including stamps occasionally on eBay as hdm50
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Post by hdm1950 on Dec 27, 2023 20:20:30 GMT
One has to wonder what will happen a few decades down the road when all these reproductions hit the market scattered through estate collections. It does no good for our hobby having these things all over the place. Very few are back stamped as reproductions.
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Londonbus1
Moderator
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 5,064
What I collect: Wonderland; 1912 Jubilee International Stamp Exhibition, London ('Ideal' Stamp, ephemera); French Cinderellas with an emphasis on Poster Stamps; Israel and Palestine Cinderellas ; Jewish National Fund Stamps, Labels and Tags; London 2010, A Festival of Stamps (anything); South Africa 1937 Coronation issue of KGVI, singles or bi-lingual pairs.
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Post by Londonbus1 on Dec 27, 2023 21:17:53 GMT
Let's not include those 2 lots shown previously because as was mentioned "something can only be considered as a reproduction if it actually legitimately existed in the first place". They are obviously fantasy issues and should never be confused with real issues.
But yes, there are lots of reproductions out there. Some are very good.
Londonbus1
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Dec 27, 2023 22:26:33 GMT
michael In deference to you, I will not remove or edit your post for the moment, but that only applies as long as Admin does not receive any complaint emails from the eBay seller, as has happened on previous occasions. That said, I don't generally like naming sellers, as it is unnecessary. If an item is shown with all of the listing info, as done in my post, any of our members could easily go to eBay, search for the item and learn the identity of the seller. I also stand by my previous comment that an item cannot legitimately be a reproduction of something that never existed in the first place. If the Crown Agents did not have this stamp printed up in 1936 and then decided not to issue it, it is a complete fantasy or bogus issue, and not a reproduction in any real sense of the word. Also, as I stated in my earlier posts, the one seller you have mentioned is not the only one selling these same items. I do not know if the two are working in collaboration, or if they are even one in the same entity, but the identical reproductions of the HK overprints are being offered at GBP 25 per copy, with nothing in the descriptions about their being reproductions. This listing below is also not listed as a reproduction and clearly a forgery, as there is no hint of a watermark on the views of the back, and it looks like it was made recently, rather than being 110+ years old. 
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Post by daniel on Dec 28, 2023 2:13:44 GMT
As far as Edward VIII stamps are concerned, there were advanced plans for a GB Coronation set right up to the point when he abdicated. See the National Postal Museum, London booklet 'Special Stamp Issue: 1936 Proposed Edward VII Coronation Issue' by Alan Griffiths. Genuine essays from Harrisons exist but they are in the price range of £800 to £1,300 and can be found on eBay from known stamp retailers. On eBay, there are examples of these from this particular seller and would certainly fall into the category of reproductions. Those shown above from Hong Kong are based on the crowned head design for Great Britain, see the back cover here:  I don't believe that any other country, Australia excepted, produced any designs but it's not impossible. The unfortunate thing about the seller's eBay items is the fact that the word 'reproduction' isn't mentioned in the description at the top of the listings. Daniel |
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sudbury12000
Member
Posts: 360
What I collect: Canada, Great Britain, Germany, World Pre 1925
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Post by sudbury12000 on Dec 28, 2023 19:22:49 GMT
Not to cloud the issue, but I do think that Canada did design and the proofs were supposed to be destroyed. Some proofs did appear at a Capex in the 90's. Not sure if they are proven legit or not.
The guy on eBay that is selling these "reproductions" are forgeries, designed to dupe collectors. I am surprised this is allowed. But the guy has a huge amount of positive feedback.
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,903
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Dec 28, 2023 20:03:13 GMT
YHStamps2020 is a prolific seller of reproduction stamps. He is not committing any crime as per Ebay rules because all his stamps are labelled "mint never hinged reproduction". I don't understand however why he has sold so many, allegedly 43,000! Why would anyone want to buy these modern computer printed labels? I hope this isn't deleted because I have named the seller. Members should be warned of such sellers. I think one of the reasons is the "Reproduction" is not stated unless you scroll down quite a ways, and I am guessing many buyers do not (I almost got stung) Sadly I have seen some of this sellers offerings sell for bids approaching an authentic stamp. I purposely purchased 2 France telepgraph stamps to see what they looked like and if there might be some indication on the stamp that they were reproductions/facsilie/faux, or otherwise. Nope. However, under high magnification the pixelation can be seen, but on a page with other stamps, this could easily get overlooked by an enthusiastic buyer |
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